Monday, September 27, 2010

When it comes to this penne pasta with spicy sausage ragu recipe, we aren't just cheating a little, were cheating all over the place. Thanks to two simple shortcuts, this recipe is nothing more than a basic "brown and simmer." Really, that's it – brown and simmer. Oh, you do have to boil some penne pasta, but I think you can find a way to work that into your busy schedule.

First of all, we're using ready-made marina sauce. Ideally, this is from a batch of homemade you whipped up after watching this video, but if not, I used a jar of Barilla, and you are free to do the same, guilt-free. Using a prepared sauce excuses you from the kind of mincing and dicing that can often turn a meal like this into a call to the local pizzeria.The second, and most ingenious cheat is using spicy Italian sausage instead of plain old ground meat. Any decent brand should be packed with an array of spices, herbs, and garlic that traditionally accompanies the pork into the casing. Think about it; if you like the flavor of the Italian sausage you usually buy, then I'm thinking you'd like the flavor of this ragu.I usually start this in a dry, cold saucepan, and cook over medium heat until it's ready for the wet ingredients. If your sausage seems particularly lean, you can toss in a glug of olive oil to get things going. Conversely, if there seems to be lots of grease in the pan, simply drain some off before continuing the sauce.

Of course, with all the options for different kinds of sauces and types of sausage, it goes without saying that you can embellish this a hundred different ways, and I hope you do. Who says cheaters never win? Enjoy!

Why white wine and not red(you were pretty emphatic about that)? And don't tell me that it has something to do with a reaction with the cream, because I wouldn't add cream to a tomato based pasta sauce for all the money in China(or Italy! We can figure out the international economic implications of that later).

Chef John, this may be a dumb question but what does the "ragu" mean when referring to the sauce? And another dumb question, can this be used as a spaghetti sauce? And last but not least did you ever post a lasagna recipe video? And if not, could you? Thank you for all your work! Love your site and videos!

Tried it tonight and loved it! the best part aside from it being effortless is that I had all the ingredients on hand. Chef John, people like you, and especially you are the reason I love to cook. All cookbooks be damned!

Am feeling a little smug right now because I do have your homemade marinara sauce ready to use in this recipe. It is in lovely frozen portions... right next to the lovely frozen portions of 12 hour chicken stock. Life is good, baby.

Chef John - I made this last night and it was delicious! I also made your parmesan crisps to go along with the pasta. Very, very good! Love your videos and your humor! Keep up the good work and thank you!

Chef John this was absolutley amazing! I went to Eataly (Italian Market in NYC) last night got everything except penne, I used fresh tagliatelle instead. I have left quite a few comments on your blog and as always....it was OH SO GOOD! Everyone, please give this a try!

I agree with Gracie I have a seafood Alfredo dish that I make that uses crab meat shrimp and scallops and it is great however I was wondering if you can put your own twist on it. I also make this Spicy sausage ragu penne pasta dish and within hours it was gone!! ALL GONE!! I will be making this again for a surprise birthday party! My husband said Thanks for posting this recipe since it helped me get out of my comfort zone!

thank you, thank you, I have made this recipe 3 times now and it is awesome. Last time I had my 16 yr old daughter make it, so she will be half way prepared for cooking in college, if she gets this simple recipe under her belt. this tastes as good as any italian restaurant!

Thank you, thank you, I've made this 3 times now and it tastes awesome, as good as any italian restaurant. Also had my 16 yr old daughter make it last time. I figure is she can master this simple recipe, she will have a good start in cooking while in college!

Ive been a long time watcher (Student of yours I would say more likely haha!) But never commented. I've cooked so many of your recipes and loved them all! (My husbands favorite dish is the brown sugar buttermilk meatloaf believe it or not.) Anyway, I am a red wine drinker not a white wine drinker BUT I follow your recipes religiously as to not mess them up. I looked through all the comments and didn't see if you recommended a brand or type of white wine? Since not all wines taste the same =P Thank you so much and I cannot wait to make this.

I don't pretend to be an expert on Italian cuisine. It's always been my understanding that milk (or in this case, cream) also acts as a tenderizer for the meat. I believe it also helps neutralize the acidity of the sauce, no? I do find that fresh pork sausages need a long cooking time to tenderize the meat.

I like this dish--it will be on my family's dinner table next week! Thank you!

Nice job, Chef :o) It's quick, easy, tasty recipes like this that working people need in their repertoire. Made it with hot Italian sausage, maybe too hot. Next time I'll use mild and add some chili flakes or cayenne. Thank-you for your blog!

Chef JohnI can't tell you how much I enjoy your videos. I did this exactly as played and written (even used white wine). Drove my hubby crazy that I simmered as you said - he took one mouth-full and jumped up and gave us (that's U & me) a round of applause! Awesome - keep up the EXCELLENT videos!Jan

Hi there! Is heavy cream same as thickened cream? http://www.bullafoodservice.com.au/chilled-range/cream-products/thickened-cream/thickened-cream-300ml.htmlI've all the ingredients and i don't wanna screw it up with the wrong cream :/ Hope to hear from you soon!

chef john i found your site a couple months ago. since then i feel like i am living that movie where the woman is trying to complete julia childs recipes. my husband is ecstatic. he will love this one. thanks for the hard work and humor!!!!!!!!

Ok so I can only give it a 5 out of 5! I also took a couple of cans of mushrooms, drained the mushroom juice into the marinara jar and used that to rince it out, and added both the mushrooms and the rince/mushroom juice/water to the pot at that time, and got to enjoy this dish.

Note to Indra and anyone else who may be wondering. Heavy cream according to Wiki is a cream with a high milk fat content of 36% or more. I used whipping cream of 30-36% (mine was 33%) and it was fine.

This was my daughters first attempt at following a recipe. Because of your comfortable way of teaching she has now caught the cooking bug. She did an amazing job making this and has since tried 3 other recipes. Tomorrow she will make her 5th. I am thinking I will have to stop counting soon. She just turned 12. You are an amazing teacher

I've made variations of this recipe dozens of times because it's easy and incredibly delicious. That said, I do have a question for you about it. Is there a benefit to buying/using hot italian sausage in the casings versus going with ground hot italian sausage. Do the spices preserve better inside the casings or something? I've always mindlessly followed your instructions because you're like the Jesus of cooking, but I'm curious to know if there's really a benefit in this case...

Made this with milk and spaghetti and it turned out great. Also didn't have parsley and didn't have to add salt or pepper at the end. I bought a Trader Joe's sauvignon blanc for about five dollars and drank some of it with the meal too. I'm glad I tried this recipe. Thanks Chef!

I just about drove myself crazy looking for this recipe! I was craving it so badly, but could not for the life of me remember the website! Thank goodness for pinterest... penne+italian+sausage+wine... if I had kept going, I probably would have remembered the whole recipe! Thanks for so many great recipes.I love your videos! Thanks Chef John!

I actually come to this site because I am looking for a good classic penne ALL'ARRABIATA RECIPE from FOOD WISHES and the internet sends me to this terrific spicy ragu with tomato and milk, but it is not a classic arrabbiata sauce. Can you come up with a simple Italian-style PENNE ALL'ARRABBIATA using FRESH tomatoes? I have fresh tomatoes, not canned ones. It would be great for summer - and the recipe on ALLRECIPES is terrible. That is my food wish!! Thanks a million. PS: Do you think it is worth removing the skin when using fresh tomatoes for this sauce?

I was going to make it for my friend, but she doesn't eat red meat :(I know it wouldn't be the same, but can I use chicken sausage instead of Italian sausage? Do you have any suggestions? Thank you! Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!